The Coopers' Company and Coborn School's Alumni Newsletter—July

Issue 5 The Coopers' Company and Coborn School’s Alumni Newsletter—July 2017 A recent foray into the world of Facebook has reinforced some things that I probably already knew, firstly that our extremely diverse alumni still have a great deal of pride in their old school even though many years have elapsed and life’s trials, tribulations and joys have intervened and secondly, many of our alumni keep in touch with the friends they made at school. In fact his year two school reunions have taken place and the first in January was held in the august surroundings of the Coopers’ Hall in Devonshire Square. Some fifty alumni including some from the boy’s school in Bow met in these historic surroundings and it was good to see this predominantly male gathering exchange news with each other and the former staff who attended and who included David Young, Kevin and Nicole Chapman and Sylvia Findlay. Dr Parry welcomed the guests and the evening zipped along with the help of attentive and bottle bearing school captains. On May 17th, on what was a very wet night a smaller group of alumni, some from the Coopers’ School in Bow but mostly from more recent school years met in the dining room. Doris Peat who was awarded an MBE in 2011 presided over the dinner queue as of old; the school captains complete with umbrellas, showed the guests around the school which had in the intervening years greatly expanded and who enjoyed the display of memorabilia that had been curated by Liz Evans. Liz organised both events and is happy to assist any other groups who may wish to hold a reunion. Through social media a number of alumni have been in touch. Diane Noakes (formerly Jones) attended our school between 1970 and 1977 and now lives in Hayfield near Manchester. Diane is married to Richard who worked for Hewlett Packard and they have two sons. William is reading chemistry at Sheffield and Jacob, a great sportsman who plays in no less than five cricket teams , is about to enter year eleven. Diane is about to take early retirement (I was asked to stress that!) from a career in teaching which she has clearly enjoyed. Diane as a student was always enthusiastic and bursting with energy and it appears from her “postings” that she has managed to increase this, a millionfold, in terms of both her private and professional life. In those long forgotten times when “cookery” was taken seriously Diane proved herself something of a patissier and my Friday afternoons were enlivened by the prospect of some delicate morsel prepared under the watchful eye of Mrs Jenny Hollins being delivered to room 2.1! Ever thought of auditioning for the “Bake Off”? Diane intends to use her time to watch more sport and catch up with her friends in the north and the south and looking after her two rescue dogs. Diane Noakes and family 1 Joanne Corrie who attended the Upminster School reminded me that her mother June was one of our gallant band of school cooks that fed us all so well and at a time when the drama studios were dining rooms and many more sat down to lunch. Mrs Corrie worked with Mrs Horne whose name still strikes fear into many who attended school in the seventies and eighties. Her hearing was very sensitive and complaints and any request to deviate from “the menu” were treated with scorn! Mrs Horne was not a deferential member of staff and I recall after one altercation with no less a person than “JRF” her remarking that had she been a man she would have rolled up her sleeves and “popped” him on the nose. Mrs Corrie was by contrast much more approachable. One of the most loved people at school and a true gentleman was the late Len Knapp who for many years was our Schoolkeeper; I was delighted to hear from his daughter Sue who still lives in Essex where her family appears to be keeping her very busy. Sue is in contact with Michelle Morris (formerly Allan) also now lives in Essex with her husband and is the proud mother of three children in their late teens and twenties (just) namely Joe, Daniel and Kara. Michelle’s Facebook indicated to me that an excuse for a celebration is never required and any time is party time “chez Morris”. It used to be said that if you stood in Piccadilly Circus long enough you would meet someone you knew! West Ham seems to be the place these days as commuters from Essex and East London join the Jubilee Line. I recently encountered a cheerful Daniel Downes on his way to Canary Wharf and met Rory Flood who is training to be a chef at the Lanesborough Hotel. The last time we spoke Rory was hoping to gain experience with Michel Roux Junior at the Manoir aux Quatre Saisons. In December2016, the annual Prizegivings took place in the Sports Hall and the guest speakers were both alumni. The Lower and Upper school were addressed by Benjamin Bland (1995-2002) who is a journalist with the BBC. Ben, the eldest son of local GP Tim Bland and his wife Dr Therese Bland, studied at Cambridge University and has worked for the BBC in Manchester and in Essex. Ben regularly appears on television news bulletins and had the difficult job of covering on air last August’s terrorist attack in Nice. Ben Bland Martin Saywell the guest speaker at the evening event shared a platform with the Master of the Worshipful Company of Coopers. Martin, the eldest son of Mrs Pat Saywell and the late Mr Denis Saywell, attended the school between 1972 and 1979 and studied law at University College London. Based on his own experience, as a would-be commodity broker Martin took as his theme the need to deal in a robust manner with what he described as his bad choice of career and an early sense of failure and disappointment. Martin is now a partner in Latham and Watkins a Los Angeles law firm that deals with private and public mergers, acquisitions and private equity transactions and restructurings. Martin was introduced by the Chair of Governors Jacey Graham who had been in the same A level history group as our guest speaker and both gained grade As to the great relief of yours truly, this being one of my first A level history classes shared with the watchful and exacting Martin Jolly who would have been immensely proud to see two of his former students at this event. Martin Saywell It is hard to believe that this July marks the fifteenth anniversary of Martin’s untimely death at the age of only fifty-five. Punctilious with the written word Martin would hate to be remembered as a Coopers - Coborn “icon” but that he certainly was. Alumni speak of him with a mixture of reverence and affection and he was what every Headteacher needs, a Deputy who is unafraid to speak the truth. Martin worked at the school from 1973 until his death in 2002 and to say that he was devoted to the institution and its students is an understatement. He was the religious and moral backbone of the school during those years and had great influence over all our lives. On the lighter side Martin possessed a dry sense of humour and greatly enjoyed performing in school productions and as a Chairman of our Musical Halls he was unsurpassed. Martin Jolly 2 Pat Murray who taught biology at the school in the mid-seventies has contacted The Bugle. Pat is living in Cairo with her husband Rick who teaches at the American University. Pat spent several years in Aleppo but left in 2000 when her husband was to take up a teaching post in the West Bank as part of a multi -lateral cooperative project. This plan had to be aborted when the Intifada broke out so Pat and her husband and two boys Ian and Daniel had to move to Cairo where they survived the revolution and its aftermath. As Pat said in her email “life has not been dull”. Pat’s sons have both studied in the States and now reside there as going “home” to Aleppo is not an option. Pat helps out at a local nursery school and is endeavouring to learn Arabic. Pat, even as a young teacher, always seemed to be cool, calm and collected and these qualities have surely been a great asset during her family’s odyssey around the troubled Middle East. Those who live in the Southend area and read the local Echo might have read an article about alumna Louisa Roome and her “dream” job working for the Dogs Trust in Wickford. Louisa from Upminster has worked for the Trust for three years and is one of twenty six people whose job it is to rescue, attend upon and find new homes for stray and unwanted dogs. Louisa’s enthusiasm for her canine charges is undeniable, the routine is tough but Louisa clearly enjoys her work. Ali Picton & her Mayor of London colleagues Former school captain Alison Picton known to her friends as Ali can frequently be seen on our television screens and given the recent horrors and atrocities in London probably more than she would have wished. Ali is Sadiq Khan’s Head of Operations and Senior Adviser one newspaper calling her “The Keeper of the Gate” as anyone seeking the mayor has to go through Ali.

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